Accelerated Blades
by DragonKing0117
Summary: Kirito gets attacked by Johnny Black and gets sent to the world of Accel World through the Soul Translator. Takes place about a month after Versus, the official Sword Art Online and Accel World Crossover by Kawahara Reki himself. NO YAOI!
1. Transfer

**Hey everyone, it's me, DragonKing0117. This story that I'm doing is a bit different from the other stories in that, this will be updated depending on what I've read in both the Accel World and Sword Art Online Light Novels. Currently, I'm only partway through volume 6 of Accel World and volume 13 of Sword Art Online and am just waiting for the translations to finish with both. So don't expect too many updates for this story right now. Anyway this is a story I had been thinking about for a while and I just wrote this chapter out. Yes, ****_wrote_****. That thing you do with a pen and pencil. Then I transferred the story here. Well this chapter is done and I may start writing for my other stories instead of typing first so... Well, I've kept you long enough. Here is my latest story, Accelerated Blades. Welcome, to the Accelerated World!**

* * *

Disclaimer: Sword Art Online _**AND **_Accel World belong to Kawahara Reki, not me. So, let's get going with the story already!

* * *

Everything was supposed to have gone back to normal. The days of life and death adventure should have ended with the «Death Gun» incident in _Gun Gale Online_. Yet fate had come back to torment one of her favorite victims: the «Black Swordsman» of Aincrad, the Hero of _Sword Art Online,_ the strongest swordsman of _Alfheim Online_ and co-winner of the 3rd Bullet of Bullets Tournament in _Gun Gale Online_, the one known to most as...

* * *

"Kirito!"

Asuna Yuuki's shriek could have pierced the heavens with its volume. It certainly hurt for the police officer who was keeping her from the one she loved. Asuna's reason for panic stemmed from the fact that her boyfriend, Kazuto Kirigaya, aka Kirito, was just pronounced dead due to heart failure. She didn't know if the paramedics could restart his heart and bring him back to life, yet she knew she would only interfere if she got in their way, this was the real world after all.

"Sorry."

The officer nodded, showing sympathy on his face for the poor brunette. Asuna could only replay the scene of events of what happened in her head.

She was walking home with Kirito, when Atsushi Kanemoto, more commonly known to her as Johnny Black, a member from the disbanded murderer's guild «Laughing Coffin» of _SAO_, showed up with a syringe full of Succinylcholine, the «Death Gun» of _GGO_, which could paralyze the heart when injected into the blood stream. He stabbed Kirito in the shoulder with the syringe while Kirito stabbed him in the leg with his umbrella before knocking him out. Asuna had proceeded to call an ambulance which arrived immediately along with the police. Johnny Black was arrested while Kirito was taken to the nearest hospital. Now, she was there, being restrained by a police officer as she watched the paramedics do their work.

"Don't worry too much Asuna."

Asuna turned around to see a brown-haired man with glasses walking towards her.

"Chrysheight... I mean, Kikuoka, what are you doing here?" asked Asuna.

Seijirou Kikuoka, a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Technology's Second Separated Advanced Network Division, or «Virtual Division», was the man who had helped her reunite with Kirito after the «Death Game» _Sword Art Online_. Lately he had played on _Alfheim Online_ under the name Chrysheight. However, he was also the person who led Kirito into the «Death Gun» case in _GGO_ and indirectly caused this incident. That didn't rank him very high on her good relations list. Still, even if a bit, she was indebted to this man.

"I'm just here to transfer Kirito to a facility where he will be guaranteed to survive," was Kikuoka's response.

"Transfer? Since when?" demanded Asuna.

"Since now." Kikuoka took out a wallet and flashed an ID. "Seijirou Kikuoka, Lieutenant Colonel of the Japanese Special Defense Force. I'm here to transfer Kirito on official business."

* * *

Kazuto Kirigaya, or Kirito as he liked to be called, opened his eyes to white space.

"Where am I?" he muttered as he sat up and held his head. The last thing he remembered was fighting Johnny Black and telling Asuna to get an ambulance. Kirito looked around and noticed two things: One, he was in an endless white space with a pedestal and orb right next to him; Two, he was naked.

"Why the hell am I naked!" Kirito shouted, quickly standing up on his feet. Quickly,Kirito calmed himself down.

"Think Kirito, there must be a rational explanation for this. First things first, I'm obviously using Full Dive, as there is no other explanation for this white room, orb, and pedestal."

Kirito held a hand up to his face and waved it.

"There are no polygons, so that must mean I'm in the Soul Translator. If that's the case then that means I'm in the «Rath» waiting room." Kirito continued to think for a bit.

"Let's see, I got stabbed here by Johnny Black," Kirito touched his right shoulder. "Since he was using the last Succinylcholine syringe, I guess that means that I got shipped off to the hospital before being put into an Soul Translator. The Soul Translator will put you into any environment with whatever you are wearing at the time. But, the closest Soul Translator is nowhere near a hospital. Maybe Kikuoka had something to do with this. Huh?"

Kirito finally got a good look at the orb on the pedestal. Tapping it with his finger, a recording started playing.

"Hello, Kirito, it's me, Chrysheight," said the Kikuoka on the recording.

"Speak of the Devil and the Devil may come," Kirito muttered under his breath. Kikuoka continued as if nothing was said.

"If you are hearing this than that means we have successfully brought you back to life."

"What?" was Kirito's only response.

"I'm sure you have your questions, so I'll answer them. Basically, your heart stopped, we managed to make it start again, and we brought you to a secret location with a Soul Translator where you can rest as we finish treating your body from the Succinylcholine. Oh, don't worry when I say secret location. We have already notified your parents and Asuna is here as well."

"Asuna..." Kirito let out a sigh of relief. Asuna was okay, he had to be okay, to a degree, according to Kikuoka, and his parents were notified so everything should be alright.

"Ah, Asuna wants to say something." Kikuoka continued.

"Kirito!" Kirito heard Asuna's voice from the orb. "Don't worry too much. You'll get better, okay! Then we can go back home and put this all behind us!"

Kirito smiled. He could tell Asuna was straining to keep calm, but he was glad that she was there, watching over him while he was treated. Then he stiffened. What if Asuna saw him naked while he was unconscious? Kirito's face started to heat up in embarrassment. When he got out of there, Kikuoka would be punched for this, end of story. Kikuoka's voice then came back.

"Anyway, Kirito, we've connected your Soul Translator to the _Seed_ and have allowed it to connect to _Alfheim Online_ so you can contact the others and tell them not to worry. You can thank Asuna for that. Anyway, that's all for now. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me in _ALO_."

The recording cut itself off and silence returned.

"So..." Kirito looked at the orb. "This will let me return to Alfheim huh?"

Kirito tapped the orb and a message appeared.

**"Connect to ****_Alfheim Online_****?" **read the message. The choices "YES" and "NO" were beneath it. Kirito pressed the "YES" button and the screen changed.

**"Welcome to Alfheim in 30 seconds,"** read the message. Kirito waited for the timer to reach zero. Suddenly, when the timer hit "5" seconds, the world went black.

"What..." Kirito started, but the world went back to normal immediately. However, something had changed. The screen, where it had said **"Welcome to Alfheim in 5 seconds"** now said**"You Are Now Entering the Accelerated World"**.

"No!" Kirito stretched his hand out to cancel the command, but it was too late. The world went black for Kirito.

* * *

Haruyuki Arita, a chubby and short second year from Umesato Middle School, stood in front of the mirror adjusting his tie. As he stood in front of the mirror, he stared at his face and some of his usual, early-morning, negative thoughts surfaced. "Why am I so fat?" and "I wish I were taller," were just some of the thoughts that went through his mind. Quickly, Haruyuki shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. AS he focused back on the mirror, he noticed a shadowy entity forming right behind him in the mirror. Turning around quickly, Haruyuki spotted the entity falling to the ground in front of him.

"W-What is that?" Haruyuki muttered, removing his NeuroLinker. Instantly, Haruyuki lost his electronically-enhanced senses and the shadow entity disappeared.

"That's weird?" Haruyuki put his NeuroLinker back on. Instantly the shadow entity returned, but this time, it was more developed, looking more human-like. Worried, Haruyuki opened his mouth, and then instantly closed it. He had a sudden recollection of something similar happening a month ago. A similar shadow that turned out to be a mysterious burst linker. Looking at the entity-turned-human, Haruyuki's face reddened instantly after realizing the human figure was naked. Then, his embarrassment disappeared in a flash. The person had looked up at him and Haruyuki saw their face for the first time. It was a boy's face, looking slightly feminine, with black eyes and black hair.

"Who are you?" the boy asked. "And, where am I?"

The boy started looking around and then noticed his lack of clothes.

"Um. Do you have any clothes I could borrow?" The boy looked back at Haruyuki who just stood there stuttering.

"Y-Y-Y-You..." Haruyuki stuttered.

"Yes?" asked the boy.

"Y-Y-You're..."

"Yes?" the boy asked again, this time raising an eyebrow.

"Kirito!"


	2. Electronic Entity

**Author's Note: Just added in a sentence I forgot.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or Accel World. _Both_ belong to Kawahara Reki.**

* * *

Since day one of becoming a Burst Linker, Haruyuki Arita had been through many unbelievable experiences. However, the one he was experiencing now took the cake. Kneeling in front of him, in the nude, was the mysterious Burst Linker he had fought a month ago. The boy who's name was Kirito.

"Y-Your Kirito!" exclaimed Haruyuki.

Kirito narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know that? Did you play _SAO_ too?"

_"_SAO_? Does he mean _Sword Art Online_? That death game that happened twenty years ago? He played in it?" _All these questions suddenly rushed through Haruyuki's head but he quickly pushed them aside.

"I-I'm Silver Crow. We dueled about a month ago."

Kirito's eyes widened in shock.

"You're... Silver Crow?"

Haruyuki nodded his head.

"Heh," Kirito let out a sigh. Then he smiled.

"So, I really did have that fight." Kirito looked up at Haruyuki. "Silver Crow."

"J-just call me Haruyuki," stammered Haruyuki. "But first, please put on some clothes."

"Ah, yeah. Forgot I wasn't wearing anything."

Sweat rolled down Haruyuki's head at that statement.

"Anyway, do you think you can find any clothes that will fit me?"

"Ah, yeah, let me che-" Haruyuki cut himself off, remembering the incident with the smoke.

"Hmm?" Kirito questioned.

"H-hold on." Haruyuki said as he reached for his Neuro Linker.

"Okay?"

Haruyuki took off his Neuro Linker and, like before, there was nothing were Kirito originally was.

_"This isn't good,"_ thought Haruyuki. Quickly he put his Neuro Linker back on, and Kirito reappeared, still naked, but somehow with a white towel wrapped around his waist and leaning on the wall.

"Um, Kirito," Haruyuki began, ignoring the fact that Kirito somehow moved. "There's something you should know."

"Yes?" Kirito raised his eyebrow.

"You don't really exist right now."

"Please explain," was Kirito's immediate response.

"Well," Haruyuki started, a bit caught off guard with that immediate response. "You don't have a physical body right now. You're just electronic data."

Kirito stared at Haruyuki for a few seconds then sighed.

"Figures," Kirito muttered.

"Eh?" Haruyuki was dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"

"Well you see, I pretty much came here through the use of Full Diving through a machine called the Soul Translator or STL for short."

Seeing the confused look on Haruyuki's face, Kirito continued.

"The soul translator is a fourth generation virtual reality system. However it is different in the fact that it doesn't transfer your brainwaves and senses into the reality, but your «Soul» instead. It's a bit complicated, so I'll skip to the most important part for now. Basically, by transferring the «Soul» to the virtual field, it allows the world to be made up of the person's collective memories along with the memories of anyone else who had dived using the STL, making the virtual world, flawlessly real. Got it?"

"Yeah, I believe so."

"Good. Now I used that to dive into the virtual world due to a certain incident, and ended up here through a glitch in the connection, probably because I accidentally connected here once before. However, like the last time I ended up here, I was not physically there, only electronically. The fact that you're here as well, Haruyuki, only with a real body, proves that I can only show up here as an electronic being."

"But how did you get that towel?" asked Haruyuki.

"That device on your neck, it augments your senses electronically right?" Kirito pointed to Haruyuki's Nerve Linker.

Haruyuki nodded.

"Well, the moment you took it off, to me, you got hazy, as if you weren't real. I then took that opportunity to take a towel. I grabbed it and a copy just slid off the original like it was water, giving me two towels. I quickly wrapped it around my waist when I noticed you were getting clearer, but I got the feeling that you weren't getting hazy, it was me. That, my previous experience here, and what you said before confirm my theory."

Haruyuki stared in wonder at the boy named Kirito. Not only was he not fazed by turning into an electronic being, he even had an explanation at to why it happened. Then Haruyuki realized what was just said.

"Wait, you just peeled off the towel right?" Haruyuki blurted out. "An electronic version of the original?"

Kirito nodded his head.

"Yeah, why?"

"Did the towel automatically adjust to your size or was it the same size?"

Kirito widened his eyes at what Haruyuki was saying.

"It... adjusted to my size..." Kirito looked intently at Haruyuki. "This is just like the VR RPGs. One size fits all."

"Yeah," agreed Haruyuki. "Now, I've got some clothes for you then. Follow me."

"Thanks, Haruyuki."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Haruyuki and Kirito were standing in front of the elevator. Kirito was dressed in a white button down shirt and brown dress pants.

"So, since I'm an electronic being for now," started Kirito. "What are the chances of me being seen by everyone else."

"I-I'm not sure," said Haruyuki. "I don't think this has ever happened before."

"I see."

A 'ping' was heard and the elevator doors opened. Both Haruyuki and Kirito walked in and waited as the elevator went down to the ground floor. The rest of the journey to Haruyuki's middle school was uneventful, with no one noticing Kirito, except for one moment on the way. Haruyuki stumbled accidentally tripping Kirito. Kirito fell forward straight into a passing man, and then right through the man.

"W-What just happened?" asked Haruyuki.

"I-I don't know. Maybe the reason why I passed through the man is part of the reason why no one else can see me except you," Kirito stated as they continued walking.

Eventually, the two reached Umesato Middle School without much trouble after that. Then they walked on school grounds. Haruyuki paused, waiting to see if anything would happen. Nothing did and Haruyuki breathed a sigh of relief. Then he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, Haruyuki!"

Haruyuki turned around to see a beautiful girl with long black hair standing behind him.

"S-Sempai, g-good m-m-morning!" Haruyuki, stuttered wildly in the presence of the person he admired, Kuroyukihime, also known as the «Black King», Black Lotus, and leader of the legion Haruyuki was in, the revived Black Legion, «Nega Nebulas».

"Who's your friend Haruyuki? He doesn't look like he's from here."

The moment Kuroyukihime said that, both Haruyuki and Kirito put on a serious expression.

"You can see me?" Kirito asked Kuroyukihime.

"Yes I can see you. Why wouldn't I be able to?" was Kuroyukihime's response.

"Kirito," Haruyuki warned.

"Kirito?" asked Kuroyukihime.

"I know Haruyuki," said Kirito as he walked in front of a pair of girls. Immediately, Kirito walked through the two girls, phasing right through them as the two girls continued walking as if nothing happened. Kirito then walked back, while Kuroyukihime wore a look of shock on her face.

"H-Haruyuki, how did he do that?" asked Kuroyukihime.

"Well, it's complicated so, could you get everyone to gather at my place after school today? I'll try to explain as best I can then," was Haruyuki's response.

Kuroyukihime nodded before moving her hand to send a message to the rest of the «Nega Nebulas» members. After a few minutes she finished and sent the message.

"After school it is then, and you better explain what's going on Haruyuki."

"Yes, Sempai."

* * *

Sometime later, Haruyuki and Kirito made it to Haruyuki's classroom without incident. When they entered, Takumu Mayuzumi and Chiyuri Kurashima, Haruyuki's two childhood friends, and two of the members of the revived «Nega Nebulas», nodded towards the two but didn't say anything.

"So what's going on anyway, Haruyuki?" Kirito whispered to Haruyuki as he walked to his desk and sat down. Haruyuki responded using thought speak, something he figured would work on Kirito as he was there electronically and because the teacher had just walked into the room.

"I believe I may have figured out why you are visible to some people but not others."

"Whoa! How'd you speak without moving your mouth?"

"It's called thought speak. Normally you can only do this if you are wearing a Nuero Linker, and even then, most people only use it when they are directly connected via cable, but if it's you who is currently an electronic being, then I can send my thoughts towards you and speak to you without making a scene."

Kirito looked impressed.

"That's amazing, to think that it's possible for technology to come so far in twenty years."

Haruyuki was suddenly on full alert.

"What do you mean by twenty years? Also, earlier you said something about playing that death game _Sword Art Online_, what did you mean by that?"

Kirito looked like he just remembered something important.

"Oh that? Well I found out the date by paying attention to my surroundings. I saw it on a digital ad we passed on our way here. Turns out, I've kinda moved twenty years into the future."

Haruyuki looked dumbfounded. Kirito then scratched his cheek.

"And about what I said about _Sword Art_ Online,well," Kirito made a small smile. "I'm the guy who cleared it. That death game, _Sword Art Online_."

"What!" Haruyuki unintentionally shouted gaining looks from his classmates and teacher. "S-sorry. Please continue."

The teacher went back to teaching and the students went back to listening, although some, like Chiyuri and Takumu, occasionally glanced back at Haruyuki.

"A-Anyway," Haruyuki continued, going back to thought speak. "What do you mean, you were the one who cleared _Sword Art Online_?"

"Exactly what I said," Kirito responded, looking down and looking solemn. "I spent two-and-a-half years in _SAO_ and at the end of that, I beat Heathcliff, I mean Akihiko Kayaba, in a duel to the death and cleared the game at the 75th floor."

As Haruyuki listened to what Kirito was saying, he remembered the time he fought with him. The pressure he felt was unreal, like Kuroyukihime when she was Black Lotus. It showed how powerful she was, but also showed that she wasn't going at full power. If what Kirito had told him was true, then the reason Haruyuki felt such pressure from Kirito was justifiably explained. Kirito was a veteran, a hero who had saved thousands of lives. To Haruyuki, who had only read about the _SAO_ incident, Kirito was a true legend.

"What I wouldn't give to have seen that fight. Even for just a second," Haruyuki unintentionally mumbled.

Kirito looked up at Haruyuki.

"It wasn't that great of a battle you know. More like, I actually died in the process, but was allowed to live thanks to Kayaba's whim."

Haruyuki, however, wasn't convinced, but let it go.

"Hey, Kirito?" asked Haruyuki.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could tell me the full story sometime, about you adventures back in the past?"

Kirito's eyes widened. Then he smiled.

"You better tell me a story too. I want to hear about your adventures."

"Deal."


	3. Meeting

**Edited a bit so certain parts are explained a bit more. ~ DragonKing0117**

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**Disclaimer: Sword Art Online _and_ Accel World belong to Reki Kawahara, _not_ me.**

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly for Kirito. As he was currently an electronic being, and not a 'real' one, in whatever twisted sense of the word 'real', he had freedoms that Haruyuki could never have at this time of day. So, after his chat with Haruyuki, Kirito spent his day exploring Umesato middle school. Wandering the floors, and rooms, he eventually realized how much his freedom was restricted.

There were certain parts of the school that Kirito could not access. After thinking about it for a bit, he realized that there were securtiy cameras everywhere in the school, and where he could not access was where there were no security cameras.

Some more exploring showed that he could only phase through moving objects. Walls of buildings would feel solid. Same with random peices of equipment. However, once the object was in motion, Kirito could phase right through it. This was proven the moment a boy tripped and spilled his books straight through Kirito. The moment they were on the ground, Kirito couldn't phase through them anymore.

The last thing Kirito found out, was that he could inhabit the body's of other people, or rather their Neuro Linker. As part of an experiment, Kirito tried sitting on the lap of a girl, and ended up phasing through her. The light on the Neuro Linker turned black and all of a sudden, Kirito was seeing the world through the girl's eyes. He tried moving the girl's body, but he couldn't, which made him realize he was only inhabiting the girl's Neuro Linker. However, inside of the Neuro Linker, Kirito was able to access the internet, and surfed it a bit while the girl continued working as if nothing happened. Eventually Kirito tried to move out of the girl's Neuro Linker and ended back up as his electronic self.

Once Haruyuki left school, Kirito told him all of his discoveries as they wlaked back to Haruyuki's place.

"You're just like a ghost!" Haruyuki joked.

"Great, I die a few times in my time and now I'm a ghost in this time," Kirito said in mock sadness. Then he laughed.

"You must be a cat if you're still around after dying so many times," said Haruyuki as he too started to laugh.

"Hey, Haruyuki-kun. What's so funny?" a voice said behind Haruyuki.

"Oh, nothing re- Gah! Sempai?" Haruyuki suddenly shouted when he noticed Kuroyukihime standing behind him. Meanwhile Kirito continued to laugh at Harruyuki's expense.

"So, Haruyuki-kun, what was the joke? Can I not hear it too?"

"N-no! I-I mean, yes! I-I mean, it's complicated..."

"Complicated?"

Kirito picked this time to save Haruyuki.

"It involves me, Hime."

Kuroyukihime's eyes narrowed.

"Don't call me that."

"Tell me your real name."

"I refuse."

"Then I'm calling you Hime and there's nothing you can do about it. After all, they say to respect your elder's you know." Kirito stated matter-of-factly.

Kuroyukihime, however, refused to back down.

"You can't be that much older than me," Kuroyukihime said with a smug look on her face.

"I was born October of 2008. It is currently June of 2047. You do the math, I'm pretty sure that makes me way older than a middle schooler like you."

Kuroyukihime stopped walking, her mouth wide open as she stared at Kirito in shock. Kirito turned back around and stared curiously at the dumbfounded Kuroyukihime.

"Oh, yeah. We were supposed to tell you that later weren't we?"

Kuroyukihime quickly regained her composure.

"I guess that's one of the things you were going to tell me, isn't it Haruyuki?"

_"She calmed herself down quickly,"_ Kirito noted.

"Y-Yes, Sempai," Haruyuki responded.

"I see." Kuroyukihime continued to walk.

"Hey, Hime!" Kirito shouted.

"Yes, Mr. Kirito," Kuroyukihime said, suddenly polite.

_"Is she trying to show that she can be respectful to adults. Even though it's only a technicality?"_ Kirito thought.

"Well, you don't mind me taking a quick nap do you?"

Kuroyukihime stopped and gave the black-haired youth a questioning look.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Just this."

In a flash Kirito had tapped Kuroyukihime's Neuro Linker and stepped into it, thus inhabiting it.

Kuroyukihime screamed.

* * *

The fist went straight through Kirito's head.

"Sorry, but if it moves, it can't touch me you know." Kirito said with a grin.

"Somehow, I will kill you, even if you can't be killed, I'll find away to kill you anyway!" Kuroyukihime shouted as she tried to punch Kirito in the face again.

"Ahem." The cough directed Kuroyukihime's anger to another person, a red-headed elementary school girl.

"And you! Why are you here again!" shouted Kuroyukihime.

"I was invited by Haruyuki, remember, dumbass. Something about needing to be informed about something significant. My guess is it's that boy who you're failing to hit." The girl said while giving Kuroyukihime a glare.

"Please calm down Sacchan. You're being unsightly."

That came from a brown-haired girl around Kirito's age.

"Yes, master," began the boy with glasses Kirito had seen earlier. The girl he was with, Kirito also recognized. "We were all called here for a meeting about the boy you're trying to hit, not to watch you try to hit him."

Kuroyukihime grew flustered, but quickly calmed herself down.

"Yes, you're right Takumu. Now let's all sit down and begin the meeting."

No one pointed out that she was the only one, besides Kirito, to be standing.

"First things, first," began Kuroyukihime. "Who are you and why can you only be seen by Burst Linkers?"

"That's straight to the point," muttered Kirito.

"Just answer the question!"

_"This feels too much like an interrogation,"_ thought Kirito. He coughed, then asked a question of his own.

"Could you first tell me what Burst Linkers are. Does it involve that Brain Burst program that was on your Neuro Linker?"

Too late Kirito realized he asked the wrong question.

"You were looking through my Neuro Linker?!" Kuroyukihime roared.

"N-No! I wasn't. The icon for Brain Burst was just flashing in front of my face the entire time I was trying to sleep. I just left it alone as I thought it could be bad if I touched it! That's all!" Kirito quickly blurted out.

That seemed to satisfy Kuroyukihime, though she was still angry. Haruyuki was the one who answered Kirito's question.

"Kirito, Brain Burst is a game where we use points, called Burst Points, that allow us to 'accelerate in the real world'."

"Accelerate?" asked Kirito.

This time the boy, Takumu, answered the question.

"Basically it speeds up the brains thinking processes to 1000 times per second so that you live through 1000 seconds, or 16 minutes and 40 seconds, every second."

Kirito eyes widened in surprise. Then they narrowed.

"So, basically this game, Brain Burst, is a fighting game where you fight for points that allow you to accelerate your mind in the real world and use that as an advantage against everyone else for whatever you want, right?"

"That's basically correct," said Kuroyukihime. "But I don't recall anyone saying it was a fighting game."

"It was a guess," began Kirito. "Based off of what I know from my fight with Haruyuki when he was Silver Crow and my experiences as an electronic entity, my conclusion is that all the security cameras I've seen here were hacked to create a virtual copy of the real world. That is then used as a battleground for the players, who have robotic avatars, to fight for Burst Points and continue to accelerate, right?"

The rooms was silent enough to hear a pin drop and the shocked expressions on everyone's faces was enough proof to Kirito. The foul-mouthed, red-headed elementary school girl was the one to break the silence.

"First off, what kind of monster genius are you to figure that out on your first try? Second, when the hell did you fight Haruyuki?"

"First, I'm not a genius, my IQ is pretty average you know. Second, I fought him about a month ago, but I disconnected in the middle of the fight."

Kuroyukihime was suddenly alert at that.

"Wait, _you_ were the one Haruyuki fought last month?"

Kirito nodded.

"Well that explains a bit of who you are, but we still need more information."

Kirito smirked.

"Fine then, introduce yourselves first and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Kuroyukihime was about to object but she was quickly silenced by girl who had her before.

"That will do just fine. My name is Fuuko Kurasaki. In Brain Burst, I am Sky Raker, member of the Black Legion, «Nega Nebulas». Pleased to meet you."

Next was Haruyuki.

"My name is Haruyuki Arita. Silver Crow is my Duel Avatar. I'm also part of «Nega Nebulas». It's nice to officially meet you."

Takumu went next.

"I'm Takumu Mayuzumi. My Avatar is Cyan Pile. I am also a member of «Nega Nebulas». Nice to meet you."

The girl next to Takumu went next.

"My name is Chiyuri Kurashima. My Avatar is Lime Bell and I am also a member of «Nega Nebulas».

The foul-mouthed elementary school girl went next.

"Yuniko Koudzuki. Call me Niko. My avatar is Scarlet Rain and I'm the leader of the Red Legion, «Prominence»."

All that was left was Kuroyukihime.

"My name is Kuroyukihime-"

"Stubborn to the end eh?" Kirito muttered.

"That's all you're going to get out of her, trust me on that," said Niko

"Ahem." Fuuko coughed, silencing the two.

"Anyway, I'm Kuroyukihime. My avatar is Black Lotus, and I am the leader of the Black Legion, «Nega Nebulas». It's nice to meet you. Now," Kuroyukihime pointed at Kirito. "Tell us who you are and why you are here!"

Kirito sighed.

"Fine, I guess. My name is Kazuto Kirigaya. Call me Kirito if you like. That's pretty much the name of all my characters for video games. Anyway, I was born October 7, 2008 and I ended up here due to an accident."

"You're from the future? And you had an accident?" asked Niko "Don't tell me you died and are haunting us now?"

Kirito nodded.

"That's pretty much it, in a certain sense. To get to the point, my heart stopped due to a drug called Succinylcholine being injected into me. Basically, it's what they use for euthanasia." Kirito paused to see if everyone was paying attention, which they were. Then he continued.

"Well, an acquaintance of mine works for the government and managed to place me into a full dive machine called the Soul Translator, or STL for short. Like the name states, the machine translates a person's soul into a virtual reality that is perfectly lifelike due to being reconstructed from the memories of the current user and all the users before them. I was placed in that in order for me to play a VR game I normally spent time on and to relay the information that I was all right to all the people I knew, but..."

"Something went wrong," said Chiyuri. "Didn't it?"

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "I don't know how, maybe because of how I got to fight Haruyuki the last time, but the STL sent me here, as an electronic being 22 years into the future, instead of the VR game I should have been sent too. And here we are now."

Kuroyukihime had a frown on her face.

"I would love to say that something like time traveling through virtual reality isn't possible but, if it weren't for the fact that Haruyuki actually told me about the fight immediately after it happened and the fact that we have something like Brain Burst right now, I would've called you crazy."

"So," began Haruyuki. "What do we do now? I mean can Kirito even Burst Link?"

"That's actually a good question Haruyuki," said Kuroyukihime as an evil light started to shine in her eyes. "First off Kirito, do you know how to accelerate?"

Kirito shook his head.

"No. Last time, I was challenged."

"Well here are some simple commands. First, say 'Burst Link' if you want to accelerate. How about we all do it together so Kirito can get a feel for it."

"Um, okay," said Kirito. "On three then. One. Two. Three!"

"""""""Burst Link!"""""""

* * *

**Hey guys, me, DragonKing0117, again with the next chapter of Accelerated Blades. I'm just letting you guys know, the first fight of the series will be taking place next chapter. Get ready for it!**


	4. Kirito VS Black Lotus

**Well, guys, it's me. DragonKing0117 again, with the 4th chapter of Accelerated Blades. As a note to all of you, I will be updating chapter 3 shortly after posting this chapter so that it elaborates a bit more about Kirito being from the past. Other then that, enjoy!**

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**Disclaimer: Sword Art Online _and_ Accel World belong to Reki Kawahara, _not me._**

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Kirito opened his eyes. Looking around, Kirito saw that the world around him had turned a shade of blue, including the bodies of everyone else. However, there were things that weren't blue. By Haruyuki, a small pig was standing. By Takumu, was him in a tin man suit. Chiyuri was in a cat outfit, and Niko was dressed as a medieval prince. Fuuko was the same and Kuroyukihime was in a somewhat revealing butterfly costume. Looking at himself, Kirito realized he was in his Aincrad attire for the «Black Swordsman» with both «Elucidator» and «Dark Repulser» strapped to his back.

"Hey, you're back in the avatar you used to fight me!" Haruyuki the pig yelled out. The others looked at Kirito as well.

"So that's what Haruyuki meant by you being dressed in black. It actually suits you," said Kuroyukihime.

"Thank you."

"Well, it seems like you can accelerate. Which brings me to the next question: What are your stats for Brain Burst? Just check the menu in front of you."

Kirito looked in front of him and found a menu. Scrolling down, he found the option labeled Brain Burst. Clicking it, he was given a further set of options. Kirito found the option labeled 'User Stats' and clicked it.

"Um, it says Name: Kirito, Level: Not Available, Burst Points: Unlimited."

"What? That can't be possible!" exclaimed Haruyuki. "Right Sempai?"

"Anything's possible at this rate Haruyuki," said Kuroyukihime. "So, Kirito, how would you rate yourself as a fighter?"

"Back in my time, one of the best. Why?" Kirito said, getting a bad feeling.

Kuroyukihime grinned.

"I want to see for myself how good of a fighter you are."

"Are you sure of this master?" Takumu asked. "You know the sudden death rule-"

"Only applies to fights between two level nine players," interrupted Niko. "Kirito is obviously not level nine, so let's let them fight. Besides, I want to see this."

"Niko is right Taku," said Haruyuki. "Besides, I've been wondering myself how Kirito would fare against Sempai. After all when I faced him, he gave off the impression of an experienced fighter, just like Sempai."

"It's alright Takumu. Besides, I want revenge for him sneaking into my Neuro Linker!"

"That's all you wanted?" Kirito stated with half-lidded eyes. "Well, I wouldn't mind fighting. It would at least give me something to do. I accept your challenge."

"Good. However, let's do this outside. Say 'Burst Out' to decelerate."

"""""""Burst Out!"""""""

* * *

Kirito and Kuroyukihime were standing on opposite sides of a nearby park while accelerated. The others stayed across the street in a cafe, the reason being they needed to keep their identities hidden from other Burst Linkers.

"Are you ready Kirito?" Kuroyukihime shouted. Kirito nodded.

He saw Kuroyukihime move her hand as she manipulated her menu.

Bashiiiii!

All of a sudden the world transformed in front of Kirito's eyes. The world, once vibrant and colorful, now turned dull, brown, and gray, as everything rusted away and died.

[HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!]

A loud voice rung out as a bar appeared over Kirito's head. The appearance was the same as the last time he had fought with Brain Burst, except this time, BLACK LOTUS was his opponent instead of SILVER CROW. Looking ahead, he saw the girl in question. She was now a black robotic being with a purple visor covering glowing eyes. All four of her limbs were blades. Kirito whistled.

"Now if that's not an avatar made for fighting, I don't know what is, Hime."

"Call me Lotus when we're dueling please, and my Avatar _does_ look a great deal better at fighting than yours." Black Lotus responded.

"Ah."

Kirito looked down, noticing he was still in his _SAO_ outfit. It certainly didn't look as battle ready as Black Lotus.

[FIGHT!]

The voice echoed through the area. Then another voice was heard.

"Good luck Sempai, Kirito!"

Both people looked up to see who called them. It was a silver and slim Avatar on top of a nearby building. Kirito recognized it immediately as Silver Crow. To his left stood a large blue avatar with a pile driver and a green Avatar with a large bell. Kirito assumed they were Cyan Pile and Lime Bell respectively. To Silver Crow's right was a blue Avatar in a wheel chair, Sky Raker, and a small red Avatar, Scarlet Rain.

"Good luck Master! Kirito!"

"Do your best everyone!"

"Good luck Sacchan!"

"Knock the Black Princess down to size Kirito!"

The others yelled their respective cheers. Nearby, on other buildings, were several groups of Duel Avatars. All of them were saying things along the lines of:

"The Black King is dueling!"

Or...

"Who's that mysterious Burst Linker? Where's his Duel Avatar, he can't fight without it, can he?"

One Avatar, a small, box-shaped one with glasses and a laptop said:

"It seems another exciting event is here to rock Accel World."

_"From the looks of things,"_ thought Kirito. _"Everyone looks very excited about this."_

"Well, I didn't expect such a crowd but, let's begin, Kirito! I'll show you that the «Century's End» stage is the perfect place to defeat you."

"I thought you'd never say that Lotus! Bring it on!"

Kirito drew his swords and Black Lotus readied her blades. Then, Lotus disappeared. Instantly Kirito lifted his swords to block the incoming attack.

Kashiiiiin!

A loud noise and a shockwave appeared from the contact between the two's blades. "Ooh!"s and "Ahh!"s could be heard from the audience.

"That's quite a reaction speed you have there Kirito. How'd you get so fast?" Black Lotus asked.

"I spent two and a half years in a death game. It does wonders for your reflexes." Kirito responded. "Besides, against a person who has blades for limbs, I have to go all out to survive you know."

Black Lotus' two glowing eyes narrowed.

"I see."

The two jumped away from the other and one again Black Lotus disappeared.

Kashiiin! Kashiiin! Kashiiin!

Several shockwaves and flashes of light could be seen across the wasteland as Kirito repeatedly blocked Black Lotus' strikes repeatedly. Eventually the two settled back in their respective areas, both still having full health, before charging again.

Kashiiin!

Kirito blocked Black Lotus' attack and used his foot to kick her back a bit. Surprised, Lotus fell backwards. Kirito lunged forward but quickly jumped back as Lotus turned her fall into a backflip and tried to slash him with her bladed leg.

"Whoa!"

"Amazing!"

Comments like that could be heard around the area as the two separated.

Quickly checking his Special Gauge, Kirito noticed that it was three-quarters of the way full. That was enough for about two or three sword skills. Looking ahead, Kirito tucked his arm in and twisted slightly. Immediately, a crimson light glowed around «Elucidator» and Kirito charged, activating the One-Handed Sword Skill, **«Vorpal Strike»**. Black Lotus, noticing Kirito, quickly lifted her arms to block the attack. Kirito closed in and the blades clashed. However, due to «Vorpal Strike»'s extended range and power, Lotus was launched backwards into a nearby building while Kirito took the time to recover from the strike.

Immediately, Black Lotus shot out of the building, readying her blades. Kirito, now recovered, rested his blade against his shoulder activating another Sword Skill, **«Sonic Leap»**, and jumped forward at high-speed.

The two clashed in the midair, creating another shockwave, and, as the sword skill ended, Kirito activated another sword skill with «Dark Repulser», this time using **«Slant»** to slash at Black Lotus' side sending her straight to the ground. Kirito landed a few meters away.

"Sempai!" Kirito heard Silver Crow shout.

"He got the Black King!" This was shouted by some of the other spectators.

"Good job Kirito! Now finish her!"

That shout came from Scarlet Rain.

"Yeah, yeah!" Kirito shouted back. Kirito walked a few steps in the direction of the fallen Black Lotus.

"It seems I got the first clean strike Lotus!" Kirito shouted before he once more charged at Black Lotus. Suddenly, Black Lotus jumped up and activated a skill of her own.

"**«Death By Barraging»**!" she shouted as she started to launch countless bladed kicks at Kirito.

"Crap!" Kirito quickly raised his swords in front of him and blocked what he could of the attack, barely managing to keep himself from being blown away by its power, yet still being pushed back about a meter. Eventually the attack ended and Kirito was left barely standing and breathing heavily.

"It seems like I did more damage Kirito," said Black Lotus. Looking up, Kirito noticed what she said was true. His health gauge was at around 50% while hers was closer to 70%. Both his and her Special Gauges was now maxed out and the timer was down to 600 seconds left.

"You're packing... quite the power... aren't you, Black Lotus?" Kirito, breathing heavily, said as he readied his swords.

"Unfortunately you won't be able to witness the full extent of my power, for I'll finish you with this next attack!" Lotus said as she held her arms in an X-shape in front of her.

"Hey, I was going to say the same thing... though I'm still not used to this level of pain," said Kirito, wincing, before looking back up at the timer. "Looks like we have less than 10 minutes left. Let's finish this before then."

"Yes let's."

Both players stood in silence as they prepared to strike. The spectators also grew quiet, waiting in anticipation for what they expected to be the last attack for both players.

Soon, the wait was over. Both Kirito's blades glowed blue with energy while Black Lotus' arms glowed with purple energy. Both fighters charged while shouting their attacks, their gauges both decreasing to zero.

"**«Death By Piercing»**!"

"**«Starburst Stream»**!"

A large purple aura radiated around Black Lotus as she charged with her blades thrusted forward, swirling around her like a giant blade. Meanwhile Kirito rushed straight at the enormous amount of energy and started his «Dual Blades» Sword Skill against the energy.

_"Faster!"_ thought Kirito as he slashed and slashed at the giant energy mass. _"I need to go faster! Just like back then!"_

Kirito's blades started moving faster against the swirling mass of energy. Time seemed to slow down as Kirito slashed. Left, right, left, right, left. Kirito's blades moved against the energy and then the attacks started to slow down.

_"No!"_ thought Kirito. _"I need to hit more!"_

However, it was futile. Kirito felt the Sword Skill's power fade away as his body was left vulnerable. Then he smiled.

"Thanks for the fight, Hime!"

Yhen, Kirito screamed as he felt the two blades stab straight through his body before disappearing in a burst of polygons.

* * *

Haruyuki was in awe. Everyone had just gathered back at his place after the fight between Kuroyukihime and Kirito. Everyone was praising the fight, after all, a fight like that was only seen one other time in Brain Burst history, and that was between two Kings, Kuroyukihime, and the Yellow King, Yellow Radio. However, Haruyuki felt a bit disappointed that Kirito lost. Quickly, he shook his head. Thoughts like that weren't allowed if it was against his beloved Sempai. He was able to clear his thoughts in time for the meeting to resume, this time around the table.

"So Kirito, I will admit, you are quite the fighter. Though you still cannot beat me." Kuroyukihime was gloating for a bit.

"Yeah, yeah. Just be glad I can't use my _ALO_ avatar, else you really would have lost." Kirito muttered while propping his head up with his hand and his eyes half open.

"That sounds like the words of a loser, to me."

"Hey, hey! Your fight's over already! Let's get on with the rest of the meeting already!" That came from Niko.

"Niko's right," said Chiyuri. "We still have to decide what to do with Kirito."

"Well, isn't that simple?" Fuuko asked.

"What do you mean?" Takumu was polishing his glasses when he said this.

"'Just let him stay at Haruyuki's place for the time being' is what you're thinking isn't it, Fuuko?" asked Kuroyukihime.

When Fuuko nodded however, Kuroyukihime slapped her palm to her face.

"Well there's no helping it then. You don't mind do you Haruyuki. Having Kirito stay at your place?"

"N-No. I don't mind," Haruyuki said while looking at Kirito.

"That's fine by me," was Kirito's response.

"Well then there you have it," Kuroyukihime said as she clapped her hands together.

"Wait why is he staying at Haruyuki's place?" demanded Niko.

"He met Haruyuki first, plus he already agreed to it. Unless you're saying your legion needs help again?"

"T-That's not what I'm saying at all you damn princess! He can stay where he likes!"

"Well with that, there are no objections to that are there?"

Everyone was silent, including Niko who was fuming.

"Then Kirito," Kuroyukihime said, turning towards Kirito. "For now, you will stay here at Haruyuki's place. Feel free to do as you like, provided it's not invading my Neuro Linker. Other than that, welcome to Japan, 2047."

* * *

**«Vorpal Strike» ~ A Sword Skill that is a single ultra high-speed and powerful thrust that induces a 10 second delay. Uses 70% of Kirito's Special Gauge.**

******«Sonic Leap» ~ A Sword Skill where Kirito charges and attacks with a downward slash. The attack can be aimed at the sky. No delay. Uses 15% of Kirito's Special Gauge. **

**********«Slant» ~ A Sword Skill where Kirito can do a downward slash to the right or an upward slash to the left. No delay. Uses 5% of Kirito's Special Gauge.**

**********«Death By Barraging» ~ Black Lotus attacks with 100 bladed kicks per second for 3 seconds. 5 second delay. Uses 30% of Black Lotus' Special Gauge.**

**********«Death By Piercing» ~ Black Lotus crosses her two blades into an X-shape which then start to glow. She then charges at the opponent and pierces them with her blades. Uses 100% of Black Lotus' Special Gauge.**

**************«Starburst Stream» ~ A 16-hit «Dual Blades» Unique Sword Skill. 8 second delay. Uses 90% of Kirito's Special Gauge.**

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**How was the fight guys? Hoped you enjoyed it! Though some of you may rant about it please don't. If you have questions as to why I did what I did for the fight,please ask and I will answer to the best of my abilities. If not, then I will see you again in Chapter 5 of Accelerated Blades!**


	5. Backgrounds

**Hey guys! It's me again with the next chapter of Accelerated Blades! Thank you to all those who have left reviews, it means a lot to me. I have made sure to answer all the questions posted there to the best I possibly could in the reviews so please check those out if you haven't already.****  
**

**As for _formerlyarandomreviewer_, I'll be writing about that specific subject soon enough, I'll make sure of it.**

******Anyways, enjoy!**

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**_Warning:_ This chapter has a bunch of plot spoilers from both ****Accel World _and_ Sword Art Online** to those who have not read the novels _or_ seen the anime for either series.

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******_Disclaimer_: Sword Art Online _and_ Accel World belong to Reki Kawahara, _not _me_._**

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"Haah..."

Haruyuki sighed as he fell flat on his back, his hair still damp after taking a bath. Kuroyukihime and the others had left about an hour ago, and the final verdict had been Kirito was to stay at his place until further notice.

Of course, Haruyuki was thrilled at the fact that Kirito, who had performed extremely well in his fight against Black Lotus and was a person from the past, was staying at his place. The chances to here about the specific details of what went on in _Sword Art Online_ weren't that common at all.

For the most part, only around 4,000 of the 6,147 total survivors were still alive and only about 10% of that total was willing to tell their story or even capable of doing so. Added to the fact that basically all of them were spread out across Japan or had moved to some other country, there was hardly anyone left who could even claim they _knew_ a person who participated in _Sword Art Online_, let alone actually participating in it.

"So, today was exhausting, wasn't it, Haruyuki?"

Haruyuki yelped in surprise. Sitting up and looking around he saw Kirito sitting on a bed opposite from his, his hair wet as if he had just taken a bath.

"How did you...?" Haruyuki asked.

"What, this?" Kirito gestured to the bed. "As long as it's virtual, I can interact with it properly, just like as if both me and the object were real."

"So you just copied the bed?"

"Pretty much, though I had to do it a section at a time. It was a bit difficult as your bed was so neatly made though, so I had trouble copying the mattress. Fortunately, I could crawl under the bed, and just dragged it through the wood."

"I see."

"Anyway," Kirito pointed to his hair. "I had to Full Dive to get a bath. It seems like I can do that too, which is really great as I would've been uncomfortable to not even feel the notion of being clean."

"Ah," Haruyuki started before he suddenly blurted out. "Wait! How did you take a bath while Full Diving?"

"Eh? I just went online and managed to copy a hot spring and bath file. The water is really great."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Technically speaking no, as I'm not really existing, I believe the copies aren't really existing either."

"How'd you get to that conclusion?"

Kirito gestured to the pajamas he was now wearing, something Haruyuki believed he copied too.

"The clothes you let me borrow today, and the towel I borrowed, the moment I took them off, they disappeared into polygons and rushed back into the drawer you took them out of and the original towel itself. Meaning anything I use is only temporary, like a temporary item in an RPG. They exist until you log out or turn them in."

"That's actually pretty convenient." Haruyuki said in amazement. "So the hot spring and bath...?"

"Is still there." Kirito said calmly

"Whaaat?!" Haruyuki shouted. "I thought you said it was temporary?"

"It is. It's only still there because I still need it. You don't expect me to copy that file repeatedly during the _entire_ time I end up spending here, do you?" Kirito raised an eyebrow as he threw a questioning glare at Haruyuki.

"N-No!"

"Good." Kirito lay on his back. "So, what do you think of the fight today?"

Haruyuki became serious after hearing that question.

"It was a magnificent fight," Haruyuki said, trying to be as honest as possible. "Truth be told, most of us were expecting you would win up until you first got damaged. Then our opinion changed to either a draw or a win for Sempai. If your tolerance for pain was higher there would be no doubt you would have been able to block Sempai's attack completely and win. Even then, from what we could see, you had managed to block most of Sempai's attack anyway, but you still got hit. In the end, you did amazing, seeing as you were able to do so well against a «Level 9» Burst Linker."

"Heh, thanks Haruyuki." Kirito said with a smile. Then he frowned. "What's with that pain tolerance anyway? I'd say something like this is illegal, but seeing as it has such a great ability, the ability of «Acceleration», I guess it's understandable. Haa, I'm going to have to start training again..."

Kirito then started to mutter some things to himself and Haruyuki, not wanting to eavesdrop, lay back down on his bed and closed his eyes. They soon shot back open the moment he hear Kirito speak again.

"Your story, I'd like to hear it. All the adventures you had in this Accelerated World of yours. I would like to hear it if you don't mind."

Haruyuki looked over at Kirito, who had turned towards Haruyuki with his arm propping him up.

"Could you tell me about your adventures, afterwards?"

Kirito smiled.

"Sure."

"Ok. Well, it all began with the day Sempai first spoke to me..." Haruyuki proceeded to talk about how he first became a Burst Linker.

He started with how he was bullied by Araya and how he would play squash because that was all he was good at. He talked about meeting Kuroyukihime, becoming her Protege, and becoming free of Araya's torment. He talked about the favor Kuroyukihime had asked of him, Direct Linking with Chiyuri, and how he discovered «Cyan Pile», Takumu, was the one attacking Kuroyukihime. He told Kirito about the discovery of his wings and the revival of Nega Nebulas.

He told of his first meeting with Niko, and the following events leading up to the meeting about «Chrome Disaster». He talked about the hunt for «Chrome Disaster» in the «Unlimited Neutral Field», at which point Kirito interrupted him.

"What's the «Unlimited Neutral Field»?" Kirito asked.

"That's a field where the entire Accelerated World is located, like one giant battlefield. There is also no time limit, hence the Unlimited part, and it's basically a free for all." Haruyuki answered.

"I see, and how do you access it?"

"You say 'Unlimited Burst'. Then you can't leave unless you go through one of the access points located around the world. Why, do you want to train there or something?"

"That's pretty much it. I need to get my tolerance for pain higher, and what better place than the Unlimited Neutral Field where everyone can fight against each other. Anyway, you were saying."

"Ah! I was on the part where we were hunting «Chrome Disaster»."

So, Haruyuki continued, coming to the fight between the Yellow Legion and their group, Black Lotus' «Zero File», the fight between «Kings», and Chrome Disaster's interruption. He talked about his fight against the Burst Linker, and how he managed to defeat it. Then Haruyuki began to talk about his most recent adventure.

"Two months ago, a new Burst Linker, a kid named Seiji Noumi, showed up at our school."

"I'm guessing he's no longer a Burst Linker, right?" Kirito asked. Haruyuki nodded.

"That's right. It's a good thing he's no longer a Burst Linker too, that's for sure."

Kirito arched an eyebrow as he waited for Haruyuki to continue his story. Haruyuki continued.

"Noumi, he was the worst thing that happened to me during my time as a Burst Linker..."

Haruyuki went on to explain the events surrounding Noumi. Starting with his arrival, Takumu's defeat and the locker room trap quickly followed. Haruyuki went on to talk about getting cornered by Noumi, how he trapped Chiyuri as well using the video file of Haruyuki as blackmail, and finally how Noumi took away his wings using his Duel Avatar, «Dusk Taker»'s ability, «Demonic Commandeer», to steal it.

"Saying I was devastated is an understatement, but that's just how I felt. My wings were the only thing I believed I had going for me, that I would instantly be discarded if I lost them. Fortunately that's not the case but, back then, that's what I thought."

"I'm guessing you got them back, as you had them when we fought which is after your current story takes place, right?" asked Kirito.

"Right." Haruyuki agreed before continuing. "Oddly enough, it was thanks to «Ash Roller», Raker's «Protege», that I got my wings back in the first place. By bringing me to meet «Sky Raker» in the «Unlimited Neutral Field», he gave me the chance to get my wings back."

"Hold on," Kirito interrupted again. "«Ash Roller», the guy with the extremely foul mouth _and_ whose part of the Green Legion, helped _you_ by bringing you to _his_ Guardian, «Sky Raker»?"

"I didn't tell you? Well, you should see the way he acts when in front of her, it's amazing. He's not rude at all and he's super polite!"

"Now that's something I've got to see. Well, you were saying."

That's right. Well, we had a duel first before he helped out..."

Haruyuki continued, telling Kirito about his duel with «Ash Roller», how Ash had taken him to meet his «Guardian», «Sky Raker», and the training she put him through to learn the «Incarnate System». Haruyuki then started to explain a bit about the «Incarnate System».

"The «Incarnate System» is a method where the user uses «Incarnation», or will power, to use abilities in Brain Burst that override the system. In order to get it though, you usually have to open yourself to the scars of your own heart, your past traumas, insecurities, and fears, that were used to make your duel avatar."

"That sounds powerful. I'm guessing if it overrides the system then it doesn't use the special gauge?" Kirito asked.

"Correct."

Kirito folded his arms.

"Well, if that's the case, then I believe I've used something similar before."

Haruyuki's eyes widened.

"You have!" he exclaimed.

"I believe so. During the death match between me and Heathcliff, Akihiko Kayaba's avatar, he killed Asuna, my girlfriend."

To Haruyuki, Kirito looked solemn the moment that name was said.

"Naturally, I was brokenhearted and I could only stumble around as I reached for the disappearing polygons that were her. I tried to attack Kayaba, but my heart wasn't in it anymore. So, he ran me through with his blade. As my HP dropped to zero, I thought about all the stuff I had been through, and I thought to myself, 'I can't give up now.' However, by that time, my HP had dropped to zero. But, that didn't stop me. I urged my body to move, even as I was starting to break into polygons, and I drove my sword into Kayaba's stomach. That was when we both burst into polygons."

Haruyuki stared in wonder at Kirito as he heard a bit about his last fight in SAO.

"I believe, that when I should've died, I used something similar to «Incarnation» to prolong my death for just a bit. Just enough to take Kayaba with me and clear the game."

"Wow..." Haruyuki breathed in awe.

Kirito smiled.

"That's enough about me, for now. Let's continue your story."

"Ah!" Haruyuki focused himself again and continued his tale. "Well, thanks to «Sky Raker», I had learned how to use the «Incarnation System»..."

Haruyuki continued his story to the time when he found Takumu challenging Noumi. He told him about the fight that ensued, how it became a free-for-all, and how Chiyuri, as «Lime Bell» had sided with Noumi. He told about asking Niko to help them out with the «Incarnate System», going to «Akihabara BG» with «Blood Leopard», the sub-leader of «Prominence», and the fight against Rust Jigsaw.

Haruyuki talked about discovering that Noumi had a BIC, or Brain Implant Chip, which was an illegal cheating device, andhis next confrontation with Noumi. He talked about the challenge issued to him, and the preparations for the final fight in the «Unlimited Neutral Field».

Finally, Haruyuki told Kirito about all the events that transpired during the fight, from meeting «Black Vice», the only «Deceleration Ability User» in Accel World, to the arrival of «Black Lotus» who traveled 15 hours on horseback from Okinawa. He told of Chiyuri's revealed plan to take back «Silver Crow»'s wings from «Dusk Taker» and «Dusk Taker»'s defeat.

"...and about a month after that, I had my fight with you," Haruyuki concluded.

"Well, I'll admit, that was certainly interesting," Kirito said as he laid on his back. "Well, you've satisfied my interest. That really was a wonderful story and your adventures were a lot more interesting than my own, that's for sure."

Kirito turned his head towards Haruyuki.

"Well, we don't have enough time for the full story, due to you having school tomorrow. However, we do have time for you to ask about ten questions. Make them count."

Haruyuki felt a bit disappointed about not being able to hear the full story, but it was pushed aside to make room for the feelings of excitement that were welling up inside him at the prospect at getting some of his questions answered.

"Ok, first question how exactly did you clear Sword Art Online?" Haruyuki asked.

"I had a duel to the death against Akihiko Kayaba's avatar, Heathcliff," was Kirito's response.

"Second question, you said that you both died in that fight earlier. How did you survive?"

"That was thanks to Kayaba. He saved Asuna and me from dying in the real world after his defeat so he could talk with us."

Haruyuki instantly asked his next question after Kirito's response.

"What did he have to say?"

"Basically, he wanted to congratulate us on clearing the game, tell us about his original goals, and tell us that with everything over and done, he would be leaving this world."

"So that's when he committed suicide," Haruyuki muttered.

"Is that a question?" Kirito said with a smile.

"No! I mean, ahem," Haruyuki coughed. "Fourth question, I heard about 300 people were still trapped in their NerveGear, thanks to a certain Nobuyuki Sugou, before they were released January 22nd and Sugou was arrested. Do you know any of the specifics of what actually happened?"

"Yeah, I was the one who got Sugou arrested and rescued the 300 people imprisoned."

Haruyuki was shocked.

"Y-you got him arrested? How?"

"Firstly, yes I did get him arrested, but Asuna got him into deeper trouble than he already was. Second, I basically beat him in a fight in both virtual reality and in real-life. The fight in real-life was outside a hospital, so I beat him and got the people on duty to arrest him. He got into more trouble when Asuna told the police about what he was doing."

"How did you beat him in virtual reality?"

"I sliced off his limbs and impaled him through the face with the pain absorption feature turned off."

Haruyuki winced. He had been through pain in Brain Burst, but that sounded especially brutal.

"Any reason for the brutality?"

"He had trapped Asuna in the virtual world and was planning to marry her while she was still there so he could inherit her father's fortune."

"Fortune?"

"Asuna's father used to be the CEO of RECTO Inc. His name was, Shouzou?, I believe. He stepped down after Sugou was arrested."

Haruyuki thought for a bit, then he started counting on his fingers.

"Okay, so I've asked you seven questions."

"Wrong," Kirito said.

"I'm pretty sure I asked seven."

"You've asked nine."

"But I only counted seven! What were the other two?"

"When you exclaimed, 'You arrested him? How?' were two questions and this just answered your tenth question."

"You counted those?" Haruyuki exclaimed.

"Sorry, but no more questions. Good night, Haruyuki," Kirito said as he turned his back towards Haruyuki.

"B-but... I... That was only..." Haruyuki stuttered. Then, he stopped realizing he had been tricked.

"Good night, Kirito," Haruyuki said as he turned over and reluctantly went to sleep.


	6. Chapter Not Complete

**Happy New Years guys! It's me again, DragonKing0117. Sorry for releasing this so late but between the holidays, school, and computer problems, life has been hectic. So far, my computer has wiped my progress and won't connect to the internet and I've had to rewrite the chapter. But, I wanted to release something as soon as possible to prove I'm still around and interested in the story.**

**Anyways, I know it's not complete but bear with me as I had to type at a library in my free time... which is not that much at all. So, for right now, I'll let this serve as a placeholder until I can get the chapter back to it's full length. If you happen to think I messed up on what is posted right now please let me know.**

* * *

Asuna, in the form of her Undine avatar of the same name, paced the living room in her and Kirito's house for the seventh time of the hour. The house, located on New Aincrad's 22nd floor, was a memento of the times she and Kirito spent together in _Sword Art Online_. Throughout the room, various other players were seated doing various things.

Sitting around the tea table were three players. A red-haired Salamander wearing a bandana sat on one side deep in thought. He was Ryōtarō Tsuboi, Klein in-game, an _SAO_ survivor like Asuna and Kirito, and the person considered Kirito's closest friend. On the opposite side sat a blonde Slyph with a triumphant look on her face. She was Suguha Kirigaya, Kirito's cousin/younger sister, and her in-game name was Leafa. The last player was a Cait Sith with light blue hair. She was Shino Asada, Sinon in-game, and had recently transferred over to _ALO_ from _Gun Gale Online_ where she met Kirito.

In between the Klein and Leafa lay a chess board.

"Give it up Klein, anywhere you look it's checkmate," said Leafa smugly.

"There's no way I'll give up. I'll win this game yet!" retorted Klein.

"You've lost seven times so far and won none. I think you should just give up," Sinon said quietly.

"Guh!" Klein exclaimed.

"If you're so agitated, you'll never win, Uncle." This came from a black-haired girl sitting on the couch while watching from afar. Unlike the others, she was not a player, but an Artificially Intelligent being, an AI named Yui, and Kirito and Asuna's in-game daughter that they managed to rescue from being deleted in _Sword Art Online_.

"Yui has a point, Klein," said a Cait Sith girl sitting net to Yui and holding a small, blue, and feathery dragon. She was Keiko Ayano, Silica in-game, and the dragon was Pina. Both were _SAO_ survivors as well.

"Why don't you let someone else play?" Silica asked.

"Yeah, like me!" That came from a pink haired Leprechaun, Shinozaki Rika, Lisbeth in-game, another _SAO_ survivor. She was currently inspecting some swords she had made with her blacksmithing ability at the table on the other side of the room.

"It gets boring just waiting around you know," Lisbeth continued.

"How's that my fault?" Klein retorted.

"Shut up Klein!" Asuna shouted.

Everyone quieted down as Asuna checked her friends list once again, a worried expression on her face. Of course, she had reason to be worried. It had been three _hours_ since Kikuoka, as the Undine avatar Chrysheight, had told her that Kirito's mind was active and should be showing up soon. However, the person in question had yet to show up.

Ring!

The doorbell suddenly rang. Everyone looked up while Asuna rushed to the door as the doorbell rang again.

Ring!

"Yes?" Asuna asked as she opened the door.

"Hello there, Asuna."

Standing in front of Asuna was an Undine, like herself, with blue hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He was Kikuoka's _ALO_ avatar, Chrysheight.

"I come with news about Kirito."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the group of players had gathered at the «Dicey Café», a café run in real life by one Andrew Gilbert Mills, or Agil when playing ALO. He, like most of the group, was also a survivor from Sword Art Online and a close friend of Kirito's. As he was also a gamer like the rest, it made coming to his café a first option when wanting to meet due to the friendly atmosphere.

Currently, a 'Closed For the Day' sign was on the door as Agil had promised to reserve the café for the meeting with Kikuoka. The group of eight people, consisting of Kikuoka, Asuna, Suguha, Rika, Keiko, Klein, Shino, and Agil, gathered around one of the tables.

"So what's this information that's so important it'd have to be told in RL, Seijirou?" asked Agil as he set down a plate of soft drinks for the group.

"I'd also like to know why, Kikuoka," said Asuna.

Kikuoka raised a hand to silence the group before he started to speak.

"Basically, what I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential. It involves top-secret information that normally I would never be allowed to tell you. However, given the situation, and as you all are rather close to the subject at hand, I'm willing to pull some strings for you. I'm sure you all know that Kirito was put into the hospital, right?"

The group nodded their heads.

"You also know that he was transferred out to another medical facility by order of me?"

Another round of nods.

"Good. That makes things simpler." Kikuoka paused to wipe his glasses. He continued after putting them back on.

"Have you heard of the Soul Translator or STL?" he asked.

This time only Asuna and Shino nodded.

"Kazuto was telling me and Asuna about it a few hours before he got stabbed," Shino responded.

"Oh, really?" Kikuoka raised an eyebrow. "Well, please tell me what he has told you."

Shino looked to Asuna, who nodded, then turned back and started to talk.

"Basically, Kazuto told us that the STL was a machine that used a different FullDive technique then that of others like the NerveGear or AmuSphere."

"Different how?" asked Klein.

"Well," Shino continued. "For current generation FullDive machines, the method of using polygons to make a virtual world for the user to Dive in is what's practiced. However, the STL has a method, called «Mnemonic Visual Data», to use memories to make a virtual world that then looks and feels no different from real life. The memories don't all have to belong to the Diver, and they don't necessarily have to be real either, meaning anything that you can think of could become real in that world and you wouldn't know the difference."

"Virtual Reality that looks and feels no different from real life?" Agil questioned. "The imagination becoming reality part I can understand as we have games like _ALO_ to thank for that. However, shouldn't something like that be impossible?"

This time Asuna was the one to answer.

"It's only possible due to the method used by the STL," Asuna began. "The current method used is that the FullDive equipment intercepts signals from the brain with artificially made signals in order to give the user the experience of being in a different world. The STL, however intercepts signals from the user's «Fluct Light», which is basically what makes up a person's consciousness, or soul depending on how you look at it. I won't go into the specifics for what it is, but the STL reads those and is able to manipulate the short term memory of a person so that they feel exactly as they would in real life."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Kikuoka slowly clapped three times.


End file.
